ITLOTC

(In the Life of the Church)

Advent

At the end, a beginning (by jamie)

Greetings.

As we near the end of the year, we find ourselves at the beginning of the Church Calendar. It’s fitting that these calendars are offset in this way. As we wrap up another year of life, of work, and the complexities of the world, the days are shorter and the light takes on a thin quality as winter draws near. It’s as if the same sort of weight that we might carry from the past 365ish days is reflected in the environment around us. It’s fitting that the Church Calendar begins here because this is the sort of darkness that might be in need of a Light entering in.

And we are reminded that it is in our worn thin places that God comes to us.

There’s an N.T. Wright reading that pops up in our Advent liturgy that more or less talks about this season as a time to look around and see how dark the world is, and how very badly it needs a Light. It’s a season of waiting, of longing, of preparation, of hope.

These are all qualities of a condition of not-yetness. And though we are always living in this not-yet existence, Advent invites us to step back and truly notice it as such. It’s worth noting that the point of noticing this not-yetness is not to cultivate despair, but rather to be better situated to notice the Light that we so easily gloss over. Put differently, in taking the time to notice the not-yetness, we reminded to look for what is to come.

There are many ways to do Advent well, and as you discern how you want to engage Advent 2018, I want to offer you a few videos for reflection.

The first two are from Richard Rohr’s Center for Action and Contemplation (the privacy settings won’t let me embed them, but you can stream them at vimeo):

The third is an interview with Fleming Rutledge over at Work of the People. You have to make an account to view the whole thing, which I get feels like a pain, but sometimes you have to do a little bit of work to access quality content (and it’s worth it).

As always, if you want to talk further about any of this, feel free to email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Arrow Christmas Partnership

Friends, as you may remember, last year UBC partnered with Arrow Child and Family Ministries to provide Christmas presents for foster children. We are going to do that again this year. Starting this Sunday we will have tags available for people to take. We need 25 family units who’d be willing to spend $25 to make Christmas better for 25 foster kids this Christmas. Please consider being one of those champions.

UPDATE:

Thank you UBC champions. All 25 gift needs were claimed and we had people waiting who did not get a tag. What a great and generous problem to have. Those gifts are due this Sunday December 2nd.

Study Hall - December 4/5 - 10am-midnight

It’s the most wonderful time of year: finals! Just kidding, it’s UBC’s guaranteed way to improve your grades. We will be open from 10am till midnight on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. We will have snacks, drinks, coffee, and shenanigans. We will also be serving up the best pancakes in the world at 10pm Wednesday night. This is a quote from a professor in maths at Baylor: “I have 20 students in my class, and 4 of them studied at UBC for my final. I gave these students extra points for making wise decisions, but they didnt need them because they all got an A.” #facts

Random Pic To Generate Clickbait Traffic

Parishioner of the Week

Matthew Palmer for doing a great job on his sermon!

Work is Worship

Greeters: Blaylock

Coffee Makers: Bella Sacco

Mug Cleaners: Andrew S-C

Money Counter:

Welcome Station:

Announcements

Sermon Text: Luke 21:25-36

12/5 Pre-Pancake Party Mens and Women’s college group

12-9 Last Sunday of the fall semester/Christmas Youth (5-6)

12-12 Last Wednesday of fall semester/Christmas party Youth (7-12)

Leadership Team

If you have a concern or an idea for UBC that you’d like to share with someone that is not on staff, feel free to contact one of our leadership team members.

Chair- Adam Winn: adamwinn68@yahoo.com

Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com

Kerri Fisher: Kerri_Fisher@baylor.edu

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Jeremy Nance: Jeremy Nance

Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com

Student Position: Samuel Moore: samuel_moore2@baylor.edu

Student Position: Anna Carol Peery: anna_peery@baylor.edu

UBC Finance Team

Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.

JD Newman: JD_Newman@baylor.edu

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Doug McNamee: douglas.mcnamee@gmail.com

Catherine Ballas: catherine@refitrev.com

UBC HR Team

If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.